UNDERWORLD
by Qazal
Summary: I keep thinking I'm dead but these four keep telling me I'm not. Its dark here , its weird here. And they say they come from Narnia , I believe them . I'll believe anything as long as it keeps me sane. They keep me sane. He , he keeps me sane.
1. Prologue

**UNDERWORLD**

**Prologue **** :**

**N**ot right, something's not right. School's not right. Food's not right. Or maybe it is, but I don't know. Why do I feel like I don't belong here. The movies,malls,hangouts,music(ok,maybe not music,its the only thing I love about this world) ,the glamour of a city life. The drama is just too much. Fake friends,fake confessions, everything's fake ! I know there's another world out there somewhere. God made the universe, he made multiple dimensions. I don't belong to this one. I just know.

* * *

"I know Narnia's home but it is starting to get a bit boring." Edmund said to Lucy. Lucy and Edmund had been having an argument over something very silly. Edmund thought that they had had enough of Narnia and its lands. He wanted to explore. Edmund had strange thoughts of worlds and on the other hand , having great faith in Aslan , believed that Narnia was their only Home. She thought that England was only a pathway to Narnia , not their home. But she often missed her parents and cousins.

"Edmund ! You did not just say that ! " Lucy gasped, " You're the king ! "

Edmund sighed. He was frustrated.

" Are you two ever going to stop ? We've got to get ready to go to the Pond of confessions. Remember ? Peter had a dream about it , and it turned out it's real." Susan said from the chair nearby.

" You say that like it's the most normal thing ever. " Peter said , walking in.

"Well, you've been talking about it non-stop since the last week , so , I suspect I'm getting used to it. " Susan shot back.

" Be serious Susan , I saw it in my dream , it was between two cliffs and it glowed an eerie green." Peter began.

"Here we go again" Edmund said looking at Susan.

" Edmund , I'm completely serious here. After the dream , I find out that a Centaur found a similar pond , He came before me to tell me about its properties. And that , that the villigers nearby call it ' The pond of confessions '. Its really creepy and we need to check it out." Peter stated the obvious.

"Alright, when are we leaving ? " asked Lucy.

"So its settled , We'll leave tomorrow. " Peter said with satisfaction.

Susan and Edmund groaned but agreed ultimately.

* * *

I really think too much. I need a break.

"Riva , we're going out to the park , want to join us ? " My neighbours , Zara and Dela called from the window. I was sitting on the couch next to the window figuring my thoughts out. There was my chance now , to take a break. Sometimes,I really over-think.

"Coming !" I shouted loud enough for them to hear.

Time for a break . I grabbed my IPOD and head-phones and went out of the house to join Zara and Dela.

* * *

**Author's Note** : Hello , yes , I'm the author . A 16 year old girl . This Fan-fic is a bit different than the others. Because the story will take place neither in Narnia , nor earth.

Keep it tuned.

I'm going to write 5 chapters. If I get reviews that indicate I should continue , then I certainly would . But if not , then , well , I tried.

I'm going to update every 3 days.

And I sound like a complete bore ! R and R ! I take, it means read and review ? :P


	2. Go for a swim ( Part 1 )

**GO FOR A SWIM**

**"**This is no way to spend your vacation. You just sulk around all day and listen to defeaning rock. Get a life. " Dela said to me. Oh Lord ! Thanks for the caring nature of my friends.

" I just can't take this anymore. I mean , all you people do the entire day is shop for random things , hit on guys , get involved in some god-forsaken drama and still have the energy to crash parties all night. I think I'll pass on that. " I said to her. Its true , I'm not a diva , and don't want to become one.

We were nearing the park now. Its a family park but all I see is teenagers on swings , on the grass making out and some of them flirting shamelessly under the big willow tree. I grimace as we enter the park and find the guard picking his nose. Zara raises her eye-brows and punches Dela lightly on her arm . Dela just shrugs and takes my hand . I don't get , what's going on ?

"Dela , I see Adrian ! . " Zara squeals at Dela. oh , now I see it. It's Dela's Ex. They were together for a few months then it all went splitsville when Dela found out Adrian lied about his age. Cliche'd .

Dela shifted uncomfortably under Adrian's gaze. Zara was clearly really happy about this because she kept steering us into Adrian's path. It was getting a bit annoying. I figured I should keep some distance from the trio to avoid maximum drama.

" I think I'm gonna go sit by the pond for a while . And just take in the summer breeze . " I said to Dela. But Dela was very busy trying to get rid of Zara who had a fair grip on Dela's arm and was talking animatedly with Adrian.

" So , I'll just go. Not that anybody cares. " I muttered under my breath and started towards the glittering blue pond . I could hear Adrian speaking in hushed voices with Dela . While Zara seemed to be bickering with another hyper girl. I sighed inwardly. These moods have got to stop. I had reached the pond and sat myself on the soft grass. I just sat there for a few minutes , taking in the atmosphere , the coolness from the pond and the sounds of various birds in the trees. It was calming. MotherNature always is.

It must have been only 15 minutes of me sitting there when I heard someone coming towards me . I rolled my eyes thinking it must be Zara or Dela and turned around . But it wasn't them. It was a Guy. A really attractive guy , I should mention. But as this thought entered my mind , it was like an internal force that slapped me. I sat there , face turned towards the stranger that was approaching and in internal pain. He brought an aura of authority with him. It seemed like the trees bowed in the wind to this man. This man , who seemed my age but felt alot older. This man with Golden-brown hair , eyes of a cat and the body of a Lion. He seemed strong. And I felt intimidated. I quickly recovered my original position and stared intently into the pond. Please don't come and sit by me , Please don't come and sit by me. I silently prayed.

" Why don't you want me to sit by you ? " The young man asked me. I stayed silent for a second because I realized he'd read my thoughts. For some reason , the hyestria boiling inside of me vanished and calm took its place. I looked at the man and said , " I don't remember . " It was more of a murmur. He took a seat beside me. His body warmth enfluged me. I was calmer and in strange ecstasy. Also , I had no idea what was going on .

" Do you like to swim ? " he asked me.

"Hmm ? " I snapped back into reality. But not quite , the feelings lingered . Like, waking up from a sleep and still feeling sleepy.

" You're troubled , I assume ? " He asked again.

" I am . How did you know ? And no , I don't even know how to swim . " I said to him cautiuosly.

" Its a shame , swimming washes away the worry of troubles . I know you Riva. As well as you do. You don't like it here anymore , do you ? " He said.

" I.. I .. I'm not sure. " I sttutered. It was a lie what I said. I was sure I was fed up with this life.

" Come with me . " He said , getting up . His brown locks falling over his face. I got up , brushed the invisible dust from my red dress and stood up. He was taller than me , and manly. He started walking towards the pond and I followed was dominant on me right then. He bent over the pond , looked back towards me and gave me a hand.I fidgeted in my spot but gave him my hand felt tiny and fragile in his rough and strong one. I didn't know why I was doing this. It felt like I was safe with him . I felt towards him in a Fatherly manner. A superior force he was. If Zara or Dela could see me with him now , they'd make up stupid assumptions. The problem with the world is that they judge . Without even knowing the situation of the person. As I was thinking all this , The man tugged my hand and I kneeled beside him. He looked at me for a moment and then brought my hand into the pond water. Our hands traced imaginery patterns in the water.

" How does that feel ? " he asked, continuing to trace patterns.

" Cool and calming " I said to him. It did. The water felt wonderful against my skin. I cautiously put my legs in , knee deep in water. My short , skinny jeans getting wet. But I didn't care. It felt so good. I looked over to him . He was still tracing pattrens with out hands.

" I'm sorry , I never asked for your name ." I said to him. He stopped tracing pattrens and let go of my hand . Instead he took both of my arms and got into the water , waist- deep. He tugged me forward and I got into the water too , not caring because the dress was already wet at the ends. We walked further into the pond. I felt like this was the most normal thing in the world. Because , A) This person , who ever he is , must be a therapist and was trying to help me. I was not hesitant as I usually am. And B)I've also heard that going for a swim washes away all the silly over-thoughts people have. This felt compeletly sane , unlike the other dramas in the world.

The man went under water pulling me with him , I sucked in a breath and went in. Inside , I opened my eyes , the water was clear blue and my brown hair lingered everywhere around my face. The man's golden-brown locks swam in the water. They were beautiful to watch. Now that I was totally under , I felt free , numbed out from the world with this total stranger. I made him let go of my arms , only to give him a hug. He returned it and patted my head in a fatherly way. My arms in his arms , I pulled back to watch him. His brown locks began to glow golden like the sun and my eyes grew wide. I let go of him instinctivly . But he took my hand and raised it above water surface. The water around him turned golden too. I was short of breath and growing purple. And then I wondered what was happening , was he a mer-man ? some sea creature ?

The man chuckled lightly , his golden eyes watching my confused ones. I was almost out of breath. But I didn't budge from my position. I was about to black out.

" I'm not a mer-man or a sea creature, O, troubled one. I am your aid . I am Aslan. " He whispered in my ear. And for some reason , I smiled knowingly and then fell into deep slumber. Everything going black. I was finally out of breath.

When I finally came to , I was on the edge of the pond . Face-down on the surface , legs in the water . I got up and looked into the pond confused. Because it was the very same pond , glittering blue and illuminating the place around me. Because you see , I was not in the park anymore. The place around me was ungodly , dark and illuminated only by the pond's blue light. There was no sky , all around me was black. The surface around me was black. I could see nothing else. I shivered , not out of cold but fright as I heard an unhumanly howl from somewhere in the strange land . Where was I ? Where was Aslan ? This can not be a dream.

**Author's Note : **_Hello again , this chapter as you can see is in Riva's point of view. This chapter will have two parts. The second one will be in the view of the pevensies when they go to check ' __The Pond Of Confessions.'__ Please review , so that I can have some feed-back. Thankyou to my first follower , Maddell. Cute name. _

_Review and suggest what would happen with the Pevensies when they reach the Pond of Confessions ?_

_What land has Riva landed upon ?_

_Until tomorrow._

_( The five chapters I'm gonna do are going to come consectively rather than every 3 I continue , then the 3 day rule would apply. )_


	3. Go for a swim ( Part 2 )

GO FOR A SWIM ( PART 2 )

Peter led the party to the West Woods where the ' Pond of Confessions ' was supposed to be located . Susan and Lucy rode on one horse while Edmund and Peter on two seperate horses. It was a fine day which was quickly turning to a night. The horses moved fast but steady. Peter had left Cair Paravel under the responsiblity of Glenstorm because Peter had great trust in him. As they moved along , the woods got quieter and quieter and neither of the Kings or Queens had the energy to strike up a conversation. They hadn't brought any guards because the job was harmless . But the Kings and Queens of Narnia were in for something they wouldn't have even imagined. What could they imagine , they were already in a magical land of talking animals and unstationary trees. Their imagination seemed so pathetic before the events that had unfolded in the past few years of their reign and even before that.

" Are we there yet ? We've been riding for hours now ! " Lucy said tiredly as they moved along toward a clearing.

" I think we might be there , just a few more minutes , Lucy " Peter replied , looking ahead towards the clearing .

" Its not like we can miss it , its _the pond of confessions ,_ it sounds so grand we should be able to spot it. " Edmund said , emphasizing on the the name of the pond.

Peter and Susan gave Edmund tiring looks while Lucy giggled and petted her horse.

" I think we should stop here and leave our horses " Peter said . " Go on foot from here , I think I see something , maybe its the pond. "

Everybody agreed and they set off , they walked a good two miles before they reached the deserted pond. It was a bit bigger for pond but it wasn't that deep. Maybe 20 feet . Peter signalled everyone to stop and he went forward to examine it. It surely was an odd green color but it seemed clean enough. There were a few fishes swimming in the pond and a couple of tadpoles. Sensing no danger , Edmund stepped forward and dipped his hand in the cool water of the pond , he went still for a fraction of a second. Susan noticed this and asked ,

" What is it , Edmund ? Is it too cold ? "

" No, its just that , it doesn't feel like Water . Its a tad thicker. " Edmund said , trying to make sense of his own words.

Peter stepped up and also dipped his hand . Edmund was right , the liquid was thicker. Lucy was curious and dragged Susan forward to get a better look at it. They were all around the pond now , mesmirized by the green glow it gave off. It was peaceful, there was no other sound other than of the wind.

" I don't deserve to rule . " Peter said , his eyes glassy and focused on the Pond. " I'm just a normal British man , I can't do this ."

" What are you saying , Pe- " Susan was cut off by Edmund.

" I will never know how to look a Narnian in the eye without thinking of my betrayal to Narnia. Nobody, who knows who I am, will ever care about me . " Edmund said. He said this because he'd never told anyone about this before and wasn't entirely sure why he was. It was like he couldn't control his thoughts , mind and mouth .

" I want to be desired ! " Lucy said in a shaky voice.

Susan wasn't sure of the situation. She knew something was up but couldn't put a finger on it. It was one of those frustrating times when she tried to make sense of unexplainable things . When her brain told her ' This isn't possible ' while her heart told her to go with it and ' let it go ' . Basically , Susan was having an Elsa-Attack , which is defined as ,

" Thoughts that make you doubt yourself Or freeze everything around you. "

But with Susan it was the former.

" There has to be a LOGICAL EXPLANATION ! " Susan thought she had screamed in her head , but when all three of her siblings looked back at her , confused , she realized there was some queer magic at work.

" Let's get out of here " Edmund said. After everybody's outbursts , he wasn't exactly comfortable.

Everybody shifted backward but Lucy stopped.

" Wait , you guys , look ! " She said. She was looking at the pond . Peter moved forward to pull Lucy back but he saw it too. Inside the green pond was something blue . Scratch that , it was not a thing ... it was just there , it was part of the pond. If the Pond was a green cocktail , the bottom of it would be a glittering blue. Susan and Edmund also looked , and that's when Edmund said ,

" This is the strangest thing I've seen , and that's saying something . " He shook his head and continued to stare at the bottom of the pond.

" I don't think its a thing... " Peter said warily before diving face-first into the liquid of the Pond.

" Peter ! What - " Edmund started but instead pulled off his uncomfortable tunic and dived after Peter.

Lucy and Susan stood on the edge of the pond , puzzelled. And when they peeked into the pond , there were no signs of Edmund or Peter . Immediately Lucy knew this was some kind of a calling , Aslan's calling. She grabbed Susan's hand , took a big breath and in she went in the pond with a horrified Susan.

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I didn't have the time or obstacle to hide behind when a .. thing , yes that's appropriate , a thing , splashed out of the water gasping for air . It looked like a human , but I'm not taking any chances after the sickening noises I've been hearing . The Human-thingy splashed about and then surfaced on the black ground. After it cames a human , I was sure its a human because I can see its skin and its like how human-skin is supposed to be but alot paler. It must be a white-person. It turns out that the human-thingy is human too , its wearing clothes . ( weird ones, I must add ) . And both of them are Male . Next , surface two girls , a younger and an older one. They seemed quite normal but their dresses were a bit strange . They all had reached the black ground and were just laying there resting. I suppose it was so dark that they couldn't see me , I was about 5 feet away from them . Just observing them. Then I felt like a stalker and a creep so I decided that if they acted normal , I'd introduce myself and If not , then I'll kill them .. with my .. uh .. IPOD ?

The shirtless guy coughed up some water and the clothed blond guy patted his back . The two girls were drying their hair with their hands and sorting their dresses. Assuming they were normal , why were they so calm ? I mean , I lost my mind the first few hours and then decided that its best to stay by the Blue, shiny Pond. And I know its been hours because my watch's still working , miraculously . After the group had sorted themselves out , they whispered among themselves . Which I found mildly uncomfortable. I shifted from my position because I was getting kind of sore.

" Who goes there ?! " the shirtless guy shouted so suddenly that I fell back on my bottom . I recovered myself and scooted a few feet away . The guy got up and took something out of his waist-belt which I hadn't noticed before. It seemed to be made out of leather.

" Edmund , you brought the torch ? " the older girl asked .

" I always keep my Torch , its the only thing I've got from England " The shirtless guy called Edmund said.

Did he just say England ? THE England ? As in , the England on the earth's map ? I thought I'd found four creatures from Earth , and it was my lucky day ( night ? ) , they were humans ! But I was still suspicious and decided to eavesdrop , it's not like I'm on earth and have to follow it's stupid rules like ' Eavesdropping is a bad habit ' . Screw anybody who think it is , we're talking about life and death here. And torches.

" I think there's something there. " Edmund said , hitting the torch on the palm of his hand several times. The torch flickered a few moments but it came to life.

" Let's look then " the blonde guy said . The two girls just looked so scared they just murmured agreements. I panicked and got up to look around if there was something to hide behind. There was nothing , just blackness

all around. Crap ! Just as I was starting to like this hell-hole with all the ' No earth , no rules ' thing , this happened. Then a thought stroke me , I can be whoever I want to be , Not Riva , the girl who was fed up with life , not Riva who was a goody-two-shoes at school and definitely not the Riva who once had to clean a cat's smelly vomit. Nobody has to know that. I can be whoever I want to be , but who am I ?

As I was thinking all this and looking frantically for a place to hide , I felt the light on the back of my neck and I turned around and it hit my eyes. I winced. I was completely out of ideas , because the torch incident caught me off-guard. Literally , because I was planning to just eavesdrop and then when the time's right , go around in the darkness and politely ( or rudely ) ask one of the girls

" What are you doing in my territory ? " So that I sound like the Queen of the Black and blue place and then they'd think I was supreme and they'd help me get out of this mess and that way I could've known how it feels like to dominate someone else , and would've gotten free company. I thought I was badly in need of some.

I'm not Evil.

Yet.

But the half-naked guy had to ruin my beautiful plan and I was just standing there a burning sensation in my eyes from the torch's light and cursing the guy for having a Torch.

" Who are you ? " Edmund asked suspiciously . He lowered the flashlight a bit so that it wasn't on my eyes , but on my breasts , which wasn't helping my situation . I felt so awkward I took a few steps forward , alerting the blond guy and causing him to jump 2 feet in the black air.

" Stay there ! " Edmund bellowed . " Identify yourself "

I thought and thought of a cool name for myself but failed miserably .

" Riva , my name's Riva . " I admitted to him. Edmund looked over to the blond guy , who nodded. And slowly but suspiciously , Edmund lowered his flashlight like it was a weapon. And then I realized I was holding my both hands up as if I was being caught for doing a crime. With a sour face I lowered my hands and looked over to the four people ahead of me. I already knew that the shirtless and dark haired guy was Edmund and the blod guy was his older friend or something. The older girl was dark-haired like Edmund and the younger one had light brown hair and wore a light green dress which was a bit dirty from the black stuff and the water. Edmund cleared his throat and I realized I'd been staring at the younger girl too long and she looked uncomfortable. I quickly snapped out of my observations and made way to Introduce myself. I took a few stepts towards the girls, side-stepping Edmund.

" I don't know how exactly I got here , its a long story . But you people act like you know this place or know how to deal with the fact that you're not on Earth anymore. Or are you wizards and you know how to apparate illegally. I don't know , but this place is just plain horrifying , I've been hearing odd voices and screams and those aren't just from my head . " I tried to explain to them the best I could,

They just looked at me blankly .

" We're not from earth , we're from Narnia . " The younger girl said. Narnia ? Is that a planet ? no , definitely not . Oh dear this keeps getting more complicated. More than any Avril Lavigne song .

" Is it a place like this one ? " I asked her.

" No , its a place where animals talk , trees move and a lion rules . " Edmund said from behind me. He walked towards me and came and stood beside me. His naked aura was making me uncomfortable so I moved towards the blonde guy. Edmund seemed to notice and backed away.

Oh , I've heard about those places , in books and movies and small-scale movies. Basically , I never paid attention to any thing fiction because I never got a break from the crap that I had to deal with from the real world. And I believed Edmund because it was the sane thing to do. Argument would result in nothing but doubt and I'd rather beileve some old myth rather than be in constant fear of physcos .

" oh-Kay .. good for you. But where are we ? " I asked looking at the ground.

" We haven't yet figured out " , The blonde guy finally spoke. He ran a hand through his hair and pouted.

" Right , so , who are you people ? " I asked , annoyed. I finally meet , not one , but FOUR people and still have no idea about this place. I'm not liking it here at all.

" The kings and Queens of Narnia " , the older girl said . But after realizing how stupid she sounded, she said " I'm sorry , I'm Susan and this is Lucy " pointing at the younger girl who offered me a small smile but I just raised an eye-brow at her.

" - and this is Ed- " she continued but I cut her off.

" Edmund , yes , yes , I know . " I said.

" And I'm Peter . " The blonde guy said. Susan looked at me with puzzlement . I felt a bit better , being a known stranger in this completely lonely place . The first time in days I was glad I'm talking to people. But I didn't say that out loud.

" So , Susan , Lucy , Edmund and Peter " I said addressing them one by one , " How do we get out of here ? " I asked hopefully . Maybe they'll take me in their group and we'll travel to Earth or Narnia Hogwarts or whatever.

" We don't , Aslan does. He's the high ruler of Narnia and i'm pretty sure he sent us here. " Lucy said.

Aslan ? Now it makes sense . I saw him before I ended up here. I cheered up a bit. Maybe he will get me .. us back.

" And Aslan's a strong man with brown - blond hair in his twenties. ? Right ? " I was so perked up . This could be a real adventure . And then when i'll have my share of a wonderful life in the Black and Blue land , I'll just ask him to send me back. But not back to my depressions. I frowned at the thought.

" No... he's a Lion " Peter said,

" Fuck what ?! " I screamed .


	4. Finding Good Company

**FINDING GOOD COMPANY**

" Please ! " Peter said , suddenly very red in the face.

" Don't use that kind of a language in front of Lucy , she's only 15 . " I looked at Lucy , who was quite fascinated by the whole turn of events.

" So what ? I'm 16 " I said to Peter.

" What ? I thought you were 12 or such " , Edmund said , a smile spread across his face. Lucy giggled and Susan tried to hide a smile. Peter shushed them with a glare while I got over my embaressment.

" Anyway , " I said , glaring at Edmund , " My point was that , its pretty common to use such ' abusive ' lanuguage because its what makes you fit in " I told them. Again the thought entered my mind , that if I'm not on Earth anymore .. why am I trying to fit in ?

" That's ridiculous . " Peter said , brushing it off with a wave of his hand. He thought for a moment , then he asked me , " What year are you from , Riva ? ". Edmnd scoffed. I rolled my eyes.

" You're kidding. " I said , a smirk on my face.

" What year are you from ?! " Peter asked again , only this time in a firmer tone.

" Alright , Alright , I'll play along. I'm from 2014 . And let me take a guess , you're from the 1950s " I said in a playful tone.

" The 1940s , actually . " Susan said from behind me .

" But we've only spent around 7 years in Narnia . Is it possible that 70 years have passed on Earth ? " Lucy asked Peter. Peter seemed to be in deep thought. And I , well , I was utterly confused. So I decided to change the subject .

" You guys are siblings ? " I asked them in general.

Peter didn't answer. Edmund did.

" Yes , how'd you guess that ? "

" Mostly because you're not couples and partly because you resemble a bit. " I replied. Susan's face twisted into a weird one. She must have visualized her and Peter as a couple .

" Well, you're one for making weird but correct observations. " Edmund said , smiling at me. I did not return that smile. I don't smile at boys. I don't like boys. The whole idea of romance and flirting stinks to me. And I'm also not the one to lead people on.

" Lucy , you might be right. That's why she's so tiny and outright rude. She's from the future. Well , the future for us anyway. " Peter said pointing at me.

" Hey ! I'm standing right here ! " I said , aghast .

" Sorry , heat of the moment . " Peter murmered . He sure does talk weird.

" Anyways , am I with you or not ? " I asked them.

" Sure . " Peter said. Lucy smiled at me and this time I returned a smile. Peter called all of us forward and discussed what to do. He offered a plan. That we take a good drink of water from the pond and then set off forward . He had this thing in which he carried water . So did the other siblings. He said that If we don't find anything before the water runs out , we'll turn back. We all agreed to this. He asked me if I had anything valuable and I told him I had my IPOD , Cell and my headphones. He just looked at me blanlkly and muttered something about useless inventions of the future at which I rolled my eyes. He , however , did not ask to see them . Edmund asked some questions out of curosity but I brushed him off with answers consisting of only ' Yes' and ' No.' We all took a good drink of water and splashed it on our faces . I was kind of getting used to the darkness around me and could see black hills rising from the horizon. If there was one.

" Wait , I don't have a shirt . I don't think it would protect me from the weather. " Edmund said.

" There is no weather. " I pointed out. It was true. I felt nothing , not cold nor hot. Even the water from the pond had no particular temprature. Everything was raw and real. Atleast it felt real.

" But , I need a shirt . Who knows what's out there. " Edmund muttered , a little uncomfortable now. I sighed. I had to do this , to earn their trust and whatever. I was wearing a sleeve less light purple undershirt. It was approriate wear. But one could see my bra's straps . But that's alright I guess.

" Wait. " I said to Edmund. I went behind a big rock ( Where was this rock when I was trying to hide ? ) and took off my red dress. It only came up to my thighs . So , I ripped off the frills from the bottom and the sleeves. It looked pretty much like a T-shirt now. I adjusted my undershirt. Made sure I had no under-arm hair. ( Hey , its important. ) . And let my hair down so it could cover my shoulders. I should look appropriate. I mean , the skinny jeans were a bit short but OK I guess. I came out from behind the rock and Lucy gasped. Susan and Peter turned red. Edmund just stood there shocked and staring at me. Now , I felt uncomfortable. I walked toward Edmund and handed him the shirt and avoided his gaze. These people weren't probably used to skin exposure. Just look at the way Susan and Lucy are dressed , its a wonder how they can breathe in those tight dresses covering them from shoulders to ankles. I shuddered at the thought. Nobody said anything. So I just decided to start moving along. They quietly followed and I could feel their eyes boring into my back. That was the last straw , I snapped.

" You know , its rude to stare . " I said matter-of-factly . Fancy that coming from me. But after saying that I felt a bit better.

I risked a glance behind me , Susan and Lucy were walking behind me . They were talking in hushed tones but it didn't seem they were talking about me. Peter was walking behind them , staring at Susan and Lucy's feet. Edmund was walking beside Peter. And we made eye-contact but he quickly broke it. he was wearing my red dress/shirt now. Let's just say it looked better on me.

The way ahead of me got steep , it was like we were hiking and it became difficult to climb up.

" Peter , I suppose , you want to lead the way ? " I said after 20 or 30 minutes of silence.

" Yes , yes , I was just going to suggest that . " Peter said quickly . Too quickly. I looked at him suspiciously and waited for the rest of them to catch up. Peter nodded once at me and began walking again. I groaned.

" This is boring ! " I said after a few minutes. Lucy laughed and suggested we play a word game. I was so pathetically bored , I agreed. The object of the game was to make a word from the last letter of the word given.

" I'll start " Lucy said. " Dark " . She looked around and shivered.

" Kitchen " Susan said.

" Noise " Edmund said.

" Elephant . " Peter said smiling and lucy laughed. I wondered what it would've been like if I had a sibling. I could've shared all my problems with him/her and made fun of the Drama queens and attention seekers . And then we would do all sorts of silly sibling stuff . And play pranks on each other. Like in Zack and Cody. It was a chidish but entertaining show. I missed it.

I didn't realize but everybody was staring at me . Again.

" What? " I snapped at them . Probably jealous at that moment.

" Its your turn . " Lucy said. she looked a bit hurt.

" oh. I'm sorry , I didn't realize. " I offered her a smile and she smiled back.

" The word was Elephant . " Edmund told me. I took no notice .

" Umm.. turn ? " I said , smiling at Lucy again. She giggled. It was her turn. She thought for a moment. And then looked at me.

" Naked. " she said really carefully. And then looked around. I started laughing and she joined me , later we were all laughing and holding our stomachs . It all just seemed to break the tension.

" I'm sorry if this unsettles you " I said , guesturing to my outfit. " But its pretty normal back in Twenty-Fourteen. " I told them atlast.

" Its no issue. We over-reacted. " Peter said to me.

" And getting used to it. " Edmund said coming up from behind me , a smirk on his face. " And by the way , thanks for the shirt. "

" No problem. " I said to him and moved towards Lucy and Susan who signalling me to join them. I walked with them behind Peter and Edmund. Lucy occassionally poking Edmund on the back and blaming it on me. But I had to admit, theses people were better than my friends at home. And just for a few moments , I forgot the trouble I was in and enjoyed some good company.


	5. Barely Human

BARELY HUMAN

Walking around in the darkness with the Pevensies made me realize how messed up of a situation I was in. Each one of them had a disorder , ( And to think I only spent 3 hours with them uptil now ) I was so bored during the period when Peter explained our ' Game plan ' again , I started observing very little things . Susan's disorder : She has to have a say in everything . She thinks her opinion makes 90% of the decision and the other 10% is just Peter agreeing to everything. Peter's disorder : Announcements . He simply has to announce something every 10 minutes.

" Come on people ! We have to keep going . "

" Hurry up , now . I think I see something . "

" I think we should take a left . "

" Don't let the darkness dampen your hopes ! Keep on going ! "

But it was kind of comforting to have someone as optimistic as Peter around. When I woke up here , I thought I finally came to my destiny : Hell.

Edmund's disorder : Sass. He has to give a stupid ( and kinda funny ) comment about almost everything. Specially , when Peter gives one of his annoucements .

Peter : " Everybody alright back there ? "

Edmund : " We're fine Peter , though its a bit dark around here. Could you possibly come back here and illuminate our way with your sunny personality ? "

I almost snorted a laugh out in that one , but it was cut short by Peter's glare. And Edmund's eye-brow being raised . What ? Can't a girl laugh around here ? We were still hiking on a hill when I happened to glance at my watch . It still worked. I noticed we had been hiking for more than an hour now and I didn't feel a bit tired , hungry or thirsty. Unusual. On instinct I asked Susan for some water , she handed the flask-thingy to me. I took a drink and immediately felt the urge to throw up. I coughed and sputtered the water on what seemed like a burned down bush . Lucy came to me and rubbed my back soothingly . The cough wouldn't stop , it scared me a bit now , my throat in need of air . I signalled Susan to take the flask from me . She ran forward and took it from me and looked at me with worried eyes. Peter seemed to having some kind of panic attack , he was constantly telling Lucy to whack me on the back and screaming at me to look to the sky to tone down the cough. Edmund held me by the arms while I inhaled deeply and looked at the so-called sky . It was black , more than just the nightly black , but just black . Nothing. The cough slowed down , my vision blurred to the slightest and came back alright. Lucy stopped hitting me on the back and Susan seated me on a soft , grey rock. I took a few deep breaths and tied up my hair. I was trembling a little.

" Are you alright now ? " Edmund asked me. I nodded in response. I tried to speak but my throat was hoarse. I cleared my throat a few times and then tried again.

" Check the water , is it safe ? " I asked them in a strained voice . Peter hastily took the flask from Susan and checked it out. He sniffed it a few times , tested it on his hands and then finally , tried to take a sip.

" No ! " Susan shrieked and pushed the flask out of Peter's hands causing him to spill the water all over his .. what's he wearing ? I wondered. But anyhow , Peter did drink some of the water. He started coughing and sputtering the water like me and I took very much pleasure watching Edmund whack the cough of Peter. Not in that way , get your minds out of the gutter !

When Peter calmed down , he concluded : " Its not the water , its us . "

" You mean , we're .. what ? " I asked .

" I mean , we can't digest it , let alone drink it . " Peter explained.

" This doesn't make sense , weren't you thirsty , Riva ? " Susan asked me.

" No , I just assumed I should take some water. I didn't really want to... Holy Shit ! This place has Alienated us ! " I cried.

" That's a very disturbing profanity you used there .. " Peter began . " But I think you might be right , i've never felt so energized on a hiking trip . I'm not hungry nor thirsty .This feels amazing . Do any of you feel tired ? " he asked. All of us shook our heads to say was .. glad this happened ? What ? Susan was utterly confused , I could see it on her face. Lucy beamed at Peter for figuring it out himself. Edmund , well , he was just sitting beside me , scratching his head and trying to ask something.

" But what if we go back to whereever we came from and remain like .. this ? We'd become freaks ! " I pointed out.

" Why do you have to be so negative about everything ? " Edmund asked with a frown.

" Well, I'm sorry if I want to be normal again and get out of this shit I'm knee deep in because of .. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M HERE ! " I shout at him . This was a disaster. What happens if I go back like this ? If I throw up everytime I eat or drink ? My friends will leave me , I'll be the family freak everybody brings chocolates to and I wouldn't even be able to eat those ! Doctors would always be around , pricking me and doing God-knows-what to me. I had started to hyperventilate after my outburst while they looked at me like I was going to die . Well, not today . Hell no. I stood up , trying to control my breathing and started to walk away from them fairly quick. As I pass by Peter , I can't help but be jealous about how calm he is of being in a place , time and situation like this. Its madness ! He's happy about this mutation that's transformed our digestive systems ? He's GLAD that we're barely human ? And that Edmund , he .. ugh .. me ? negative ? MORE LIKE OUT OF MY FUCKING MIND BECAUSE I CAN'T STAND THIS !

Furiously , I take the flask-thingy out of Peter's hand and throw it as far as it would go . I turn around to find everyone astounded. Lucy's near to crying. Susan's in a half-gasp . Edmund's standing now , struggling to get some words out . Beside me , Peter looks like a child . And I'm the adult who cried ' BOO ! ' at him.

" We're gonna die here ! How do you not see that ?! " I shouted at them . Edmund comes forward but stops when I scream again,

" Don't , just .. don't ! " . He stands there , helpless. Peter is still scared out of his pants , and to think he was brave one around here. Lucy is staring at me with pity and Susan's just dismayed. I hate myself , what was I doing ? I look at Peter and he's standing there . Not knowing what to do.

I'm not gonna cry .

I'm not gonna cry.

I'm not gonna cry.

I look up to find the Pevensies looking at the sky. I look up.

Fire.


End file.
